Chelsea ousts Benfica

LONDON (AP) ― Three years after angrily complaining about their semifinal loss to Barcelona, Chelsea will meet the four-time European champion once again for a berth in the Champions League final.

Frank Lampard and Raul Meireles scored to lead Chelsea over Benfica 2-1 Wednesday night for a 3-1 aggregate win that sent them on to a matchup against Barcelona starting April 18.

“They are the greatest team in the world,” Lampard said. “They are going to be favorites but we have a lot of belief in ourselves. We have to perform at our best to beat them.”

In the other quarterfinal, Real Madrid romped to a 5-2 victory over APOEL Nicosia as Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to raise his goals total for the season to 49. With an 8-2 aggregate victory, Real Madrid will face Bayern Munich in the semis starting April 17.

“A very dangerous rival,” Madrid coach Jose Mourinho said. “It’s a semifinal I want to play, that the players want to play. I think Europe will enjoy this semifinal.”

Jeonbuk halts run

SINGAPORE (AFP) ― Former title-holder Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors halted Buriram United’s dream run 2-0 Wednesday as the unheralded Thai outfit suffered its first defeat in the AFC Champions League.

First-half goals from former Middlesbrough marksman Lee Dong-gook and Seo Sang-min silenced the crowd at Thunder Castle Stadium and handed Jeonbuk, the 2006 Asian champion, its debut points.